The reproduction order of a plurality of contents needs to be determined in a system or an apparatus such as a video sharing service (video hosting site) on Internet in which a large number of the contents are perusable when a plurality of contents are continually reproduced. Additionally, the so-called content in this paper is a content having a time axis including a video content that is comprised of video/audio signals such as a television program, a movie, a home video, and a CGM (Consumer Generated Media) content, and an audio content that is comprised of audio signals such as music. Further, the invention of this paper targets not only the video sharing service (video hosting site) on Internet, but also all of the systems and apparatuses having a large number of the contents such as a video recording apparatus (a hard disc recorder etc.), a video viewing terminal (a set top box etc.), a mobile video player, and a mobile music player.
The method of determining the reproduction order of the contents related to the present invention is described, for example, in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2.
The method of controlling the reproduction order of the content based upon the past reproduction time quantity and the reproduction interpretation information is described in the Patent Literature 1. The method is described in the Patent Literature 2 of calculating a similarity between a user's preference and the content, and determining the reproduction order so that a similarity between the content to be reproduced based upon the above similarity and the user's preference changes with specific fluctuations.
Further, in general, as a method of determining the reproduction order, there exists the method of employing information called a playlist in which the reproduction order of a plurality of the contents has been pre-specified. As a playlist, the playlist prepared in the past by a user itself (its own favorite one), the playlist prepared by the other users (one recommended by others), or the like can be utilized.